Obama jobs bill causes controversy

On Sept. 8 President Barack Obama gave a speech about a plan called the American Jobs Act.

The American Jobs Act is a bill that promises to get the United States out of its economic crisis.

What exactly did the president propose this time?

And is it what the public wants to hear?

The purpose of the Jobs Act seems simple: “To put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working. It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for the long-term unemployed. It will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers, and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business.

It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and hire, there will be customers for their products and services,” stated the president in his speech.

The bill costs $477 billion dollars.

According to Obama, everything in the bill will be paid for.

How and with what money?

About a week after announcing the new bill, Obama released a deficit plan stating the money will come from increased taxes and reduced spending in mandatory benefit programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.

The president is asking for $1.5 billion in new taxes and $580 billion in regulating health and entitlement programs.

He’s also asking for $1 trillion from the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.

All in all, the deficit reduction plan will total more than $3 trillion and span the next 10 years.

No one likes to hear the words “tax increase.”

Especially not the rich who will have to pay those taxes.

Republican lawmakers say that this is class warfare.

What is wrong with taxing the rich?

They have money, and will continue to make money, even if they have to pay higher taxes. It’s understandable how people would see this as unfair; taking from successful to give to the unsuccessful.

But people should know that to make a profit, they also have to accept a loss.

Lets not forget the state the country was in when Obama took office. New bills like the American Jobs Act take time to work. It might be years before the US actually sees the results. Particularly if people are only looking after their own interests and no one agrees on what is best for the country.

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The Collegian is the student newspaper of San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, Calif. The paper is published six times a semester in the fall and spring.

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